Mein Buch
by T'Sura
Summary: ...
1. June 3rd through 5th

June third,

Mein Buch,

Today was our turn to host Church. It was so nice to see everyone; you know that our church doesn't meet every Sunday. We are having a singing in our barn tonight; should be fun, provided that the Lord God watches over those crazy _Englischers_. Lord knows how much they like to drink und smoke. Two weeks ago, some _Englischers_ got drunk at the Esch singing und crashed an auto about a mile down the road. Apparently Eli Lapp was following in his buggy (he lives down that way, you know?) and _Englischer_ swerved and went off into Uncle Elam Stoltzfus' corn field. Eli jumped out right quick and went to check in him. Well, wouldn't you know that when he got there, the boys were cursing up a blue streak and down another, spitting mad. Well, they got so upset that Elam took 'em back in his buggy and they crashed out right on the front lawn in back of Jacob Beiler's courting buggy. _Englischers_ sure are crazy. You should have seen the look on Jacob's face when he pulled back one of the lap robes for cold and saw three of them all tucked up next to each other. Right strange if you ask me. There's always some alcohol flowing but usually the Plain kids know how to keep it somewhat under control. Well, most of the time.

Gut nacht,

Annie Stoltzfus

June fourth,

Mein Buch,

Today was market day; _Mamm_ made some quilts at the frolic the other week that she thought were good to sell, so we headed out for market with some of _Dat_'s furniture and some produce from the garden. It was a lovely ride; Chester, our oldest horse, pulled the buggy. My brothers were in the courting buggy behind us, the back full of beets, tomatoes, lettuce heads, onions and peppers from the garden. It was a right nice day. We had wonderful-_gut_ time at market; Mary Zook from across the lane came with us und we had fun talking with the tourists. Some of them are hard to understand because of the _Englisch_ words, but we do pretty well. Sometimes we giggle because they dress so oddly. All the bright colors make 'em stand out amongs the dark dresses of our own People. I must say I am amazed that the _Englischer_ women aren't cold all the time. You should see some of the things they wear; the fabric is so thin and there is so little of it that Mary und I wonder if they get numb from the cold air. 'Course, during the summer like now, it's not that cold (it was right hot today, 95 degress, und Mary und I were in black)

It looks like a promising summer; all my little brothers and sisters are now out of school (My oldest younger brother, Levi, just graduated 8th grade; you should have heard him when he got his letter of merit "Ja! No more school for me!" He's definitely not going to miss it, especially mathematics.)

'Nacht,

Annie Stoltzfus

June fifth,

Mein Buch,

_Ach_, today was a hard day. We had to pick all the peas out of the garden and shell them, pick/wash all the lettuce that has taken over in there, und harvest the lovely squash, cucumbers, und melons, including my watermelon which has gotten to be practically the size of the bottom of the biggest butter churn we own. It's awful heavy. It took most of the day, seeing as the garden planted was the biggest _Mammi _Zook, Mamm, und us kids have ever attempted. You should see it; it's like our own field, but a little smaller. Everything was so crisp and fresh. Later, Dat wanted to go und have a word with our Bishop Andrew about some of the boys who were supposedly lip-kissing behind our barn last night, one including my older brother Jeremiah. When Dat caught him with his _Aldi_ just sitting back there goin' at it, he got so mad! I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremiah gets the Bann. The whole thing was really awkward for Mamm, who hoped that he'd be good since both he and his _Aldi_ are hoping to join Church together this coming November. Secretly, I'd like to see them married; Esther is a right nice lady. They aren't published though, so not a word to anyone. I don't wanna be a _wunnerfitz_ but I saw Mamm planting some celery behind the calf shed. It's always used at our weddings. It got me to thinking, und I wouldn't mind Esther as a sister-in-law…she's a fine soul und Jeremiah likes her right well. You should see the looks they exchange, even from across the room at the Preaching. It's sweet if you ask me. My birthday is in seven days; I wonder what I'll be doing that day…I turn 17, you know.

Well, gut nacht,

Annie Stoltzfus


	2. June 6th through 8th

**June sixth**

Mein Buch,

Today was a lovely day, we did a lot of cleaning about since after church things tend to get a little _ferschmutzed_ what with 300 people around und all those little children going in und out, in und out. But it was nice to air everything out; it's a twice-a-month chore we do here. I had the job of stripping the beds, washing the sheets und cases und skirts und the towels in the washroom, und hanging it all out to dry. I would have got it all done faster, were it not for Samuel, my youngest brother (he's three years old und quite a bundle of energy) knocking about. He upset the wash bucket several times until Mamm called him inside. He's a sweet little boy und I love him to pieces, but when you're trying to get something done, he's not got the patience to sit still or watch. If you give him a job to do, he gets all excited und works his hardest, but if it's not something big with action, like plowing, he gets bored pretty fast. To try to occupy him so he wouldn't be underfoot, I said, "Samuel, how would you like to help me with the laundry? You could turn the crank for me if you'd like." He got all excited und sat down to work for a while, und I was feeding the sheets through the wringer und he was turning the crank, but one of the cats came out of the barn and he up und ran away, leaving me with half the sheet on the ground. _Ja_, the dirty ground. _Ach_, well, you just have to love him; he gives you one look with those big blue eyes of his und he knows your heart belongs to him.

Well, it's getting pretty late; all the chickens are in the coop and the dog is lying near the front door. I think I hear Jeremiah coming up the stairs.

Gut Nacht,

Annie Stoltzfus

**June Seventh**

Mein Buch,

Today was Thursday, und I attended my first actual "hop". For honest and for goodness, it was the most exhilarating yet frightening thing I've done all my life. Jeremiah und his _Aldi_, Esther, rode with me in the buggy to Jacob Yoders' where the hop was. We trotted up the front drive und we could hear the music from the barn all the way from the house. I looked in und said hello to Rachel and Aaron, Jacob's parents, und they told us that they were turning in for the night. How they slept I'll never know. Some _Englisch_ kids brought CDs und speakers und all this crazy electric stuff that none of us Plain kids knew how to work und the city kids were blasting it from here to Glory. Then there was the alcohol. Our bishop doesn't really care if we drink, he's made that pretty clear in our _Ordnung_ sermons, but he certainly made it clear that one shouldn't overdo it. Overdo was a true understatement for some of these people. There were kids with beers in one hand und marijuana cigarettes in the other. I had one Peppermint Schnapp und that was it. I was already _ferhoodled_ from all _die Musik_ and stuff and with the drink added on, I thought my head was going to explode. Then some _Englischer_ I didn't even know asked me if I could take him for a ride in the buggy und I had no idea what he was asking (Jeremiah said he was from way out of town und that was why I couldn't understand him, plus he'd had about 6 beers and three cigars, not mixing too well in his head apparently). Then he got kind of rough with me, takin' me by the arm und all that, till Jeremiah stepped in und told him what for. Esther und I let him handle it, because we were absolutely sure that if Jeremiah hadn't been there, he would have tried some crazy worldly thing on us. The kid up und left after Jeremiah was finished talking to him. We left the enclosed barn in the back field for some quieter areas with circles of people around little camping stoves. We joined one circle to find that my cousin _Yonie_ (John) from Ohio was there. We asked him if he needed a bed to sleep in and he said that he'd come down to work for Dat, but we'd been so busy figuring out the whole hop thing that Dat hadn't had time to tell us. He was going to sleep in the downstairs of the _Daawdi-Haus_! Well, if that didn't beat all, I don't know what did. Well, we had some good fun and some _Englischers_ were telling "Amish jokes" and we got to telling "_Englisch_ jokes' and we were having a wonderful time. It was funny because these four_ Englischer_ boys were all dressed "plain". We were laughing because their clothing was hardly Plain enough to pass Mennonite inspection, let alone the inspection of a Plain bishop. Their shirts were all _hochmut_-proud- with row of buttons going down it like the stripe on the back of one of our barn cats, und their pants with zippers and all. It was awful funny because they were comparing all the clothing to our own _gelassenheit_– plain- clothing, made in _das alt Gebrauch_- the old ways. Our boys pointed out all the errors und the boys were laughing. So were we.

It was a _gut_ night and I'm glad I went, thought I 'spect that that one situation sure as heck coulda gotten out of hand right quick hadn't Jeremiah been there.

_Ach_! I just looked at the old clock und it's already past 2 in the morning. I've got to get up at 5 to get some of my choring done before Samuel gets up. Since he's smaller he gets to sleep in. I love it when he comes out to the living room, hair all _ferhoodled_, und him still rubbing his eyes with a fist still wearing his _fer-schlaffen Kleidung_–for sleeping clothes. He's the right cutest little boy in our district, even if it's proud to say so.

_Gut Nacht!_

Annie

**June Eighth**

Mein Buch,

Today was certainly trying. Levi, Samuel, Andrew, und Jeremiah, along with Mamm, Leah, Mary, und Rachel were all ill. _Herr Dokder_ Stoltzfus, Dat's oldest brother, came by und gave us some tea to make their stomachs calm. They slept nearly all the day und it was Dat, Me, Yonie, Abram doing ALL of the chores. Of course, I wasn't upset; it's perfectly awful to have to lie in bed all day with an upset stomach. Poor Samuel couldn't even drink a glass of water without bringing it back up. He stayed in bed with Mamm all day. The chickens got out of the little fenced off area they rule in the orchard und I had to go und round them all up, without any cracked corn or anything to lure them back.

It's supper time und I have to make it.

Tchüß!

Annie


	3. June 9th though 11th

**June Ninth**-Saturday

Mein Buch,

Herr Dokder Stoltzfus' teas seem to have done the ailing members of my family pretty well; today Levi, Mamm, Abram, Andrew, und Jeremiah have all gotten well enough to help out with all the chores today. The other girls and Sameul are still laid up in bed with stomach aches. I wonder why the Lord God saw it fit to keep me from falling sick? I was the only girl in the entire family who didn't have a single feeling of ill. I'm certainly not complaining, but I find it odd since we all eat the same things and we all do mostly the same chores.

Well, I really should be getting out to the garden; it's time to put some more compost on and get some water from the well and bring it to the plants. Sometimes I wish we were Mennonites so I could use a hose in the dark instead of having to run back to the well every time. _Ach_, well, just a fancy thought

It's beginning to get dark outside, so I must hurry. Then I need to shut the chicken coop so that no foxes get it. That happened last year. We had to buy eggs from the market just like the_ Englischers. _

_Später: _(later)

_Ach,_ you will never guess what happened! Samuel Lapp, the boy next door just asked me to go to the hymnsing tomorrow night. Not exactly an out-and-out courtship, but pretty darn close. If he takes me home in the open-air courting buggy, then it will certainly be official! I'm right excited…Samuel is a very sweet young man. He's lived next door to us since I was five; his parents moved to Paradise from Geauga County, Ohio. Secretly, I've been hoping he'd ask me; Dat says he'd make a fine husband. His father owns the harness shop in town. _Ach_, I'm gliding on wings!

Gut Nacht! Bis Morgen,

Annie Stoltzfus

**June Tenth**-Sunday

Mein Buch,

_Ach_, today was perfect in every way. It was a quiet Sunday, being the Lord's Day and all. We played a bit of volleyball with my cousins the Yoders. They came in from five miles away to visit us since it's an off-Sunday. We had a picnic lunch out on the porch and watched as little Mary Yoder and our Samuel played a quiet game of catch on the lawn. Dat only had to come out once and tell Samuel and Mary to keep it quiet since it's a Sunday. Then Samuel had to go inside because he's still sick. We girls sat under the big dogwood tree in the yard, stitching handkerchiefs. Cousin Lizzie made a very pretty one with a sleeping cat on it; she gave it to Mamm as a gift, who was delighted with it. Rachel wasn't feeling very well at all again, and she went in to go and lay down. After about a two-hour nap, she came down again and said she felt much better, even though she still looked a bit pale. I think the sunlight did her good though because she seemed to look a lot better after the afternoon in the shade. She declined my offer to ride with us in the buggy, even though she's courting Samuel Lapp's younger brother, saying she'd like to stay home and regain her strength. She rushed us out the door though when it was time to go, slipping us some new handkerchiefs to put into our sleeves. She lent me her cape since my _fer-gut_ capes were still wet in the wash bucket. She waved goodbye-to us as Sugar pulled the buggy down the drive, her shoulders covered up by the biggest quilt on her bed. Leah and I made it there right quick; Sugar is a pretty highly spirited horse.

We were behind the Fisher boys all the way there, and behind us, Samuel's big horse was trotting. He was pretty close; if the horse had wanted to, he could have stretched out and nibbled on the orange triangle that adorns the back of our buggy, and so many others around here.

When we arrived, Samuel pulled me toward the couples bench, something completely unexpected since he only asked me yesterday. I was so lightheaded with happiness. There we sat, singing out our favorite hymns just like in church, but together. During the refreshment period, we went outside and had ourselves a right nice walk. Since it is June, the weather was still warm enough to wear just a cape and dress, but I took along my shawl so as to be proper. We walked along the bank of the Yoder's creek, something I've enjoyed doing since I was a child. Then we heard the toll of the bell at the Yoder's signaling the end of the break. We enjoyed another hour or so of singing and then everyone began to disperse. Samuel took hold of my hand, a smile on his face and in his eyes, and pulled me to his buggy. By then it was about 10:30, or eleven so we lit a lantern in the back of the buggy and hung it from the side nail. Then we headed back to my house, where he dropped me off. Before he left though, he squeezed my arm and said that he hoped we could go steady if it was alright with me. I, of course, said I'd like nothing else and just like that I was his _Aldi_.

Just like Rachel and Elijah, Leah and John, and Jeremiah and Esther.

Guten Morgen (it's 2:03 in the morning!)

Annie Stoltzfus (Will I be Annie Lapp by next November?)

**June Eleventh-Monday**

Mein Buch,

Another Monday. It rained a bit last night after we returned from the singing, but I managed to get some laundry done. It won't dry as fast because the air is wet with the humidity from the rain and the heat, which is still around, makes the air sticky but it was good to get the washing done. If we were Mennonites, we could have one of those fancy drying machines. Some new orders of our faith are allowed them, but not our district. Our Bishop is far too strict for that. Bishop Bonträger grew up Schwartzentrüber Amish but left that sect of the church (it is the strictest in all the faith) and came to the Old Order, bringing some of his upbringing with him. He and Dat gave Jeremiah the 6-week Bann for lip-kissing with his girlfriend. I didn't really think that was fair, though I never would have done it myself since I'd like to save my first lip-kiss for my husband, since a lot of other folks do much worse before marriage and they never got the Bann. Well, he'll only have to miss church three times, since every other Sunday in our district is off.

Mamm pulled out the folding table from the basement yesterday for him and Esther, should they desire to eat with us. Usually Jeremiah just sits on the stairs with his plate though, much to Mamm's dismay. Esther sat at the table after everyone was done. It was right uncomfortable; I wish they hadn't done it only so they wouldn't have to suffer so. However, Herr Dokder Stoltzfus' favorite saying always comes to mind. "The way you make your bed in the morning is the way you'll sleep in it at night."

Samuel was up and about for the second time in the last week practically. Poor thing; his cheeks are still rosy from the fever he had there for a while, and his voice is practically gone. He just kind of walks around slowly about the house, stopping every so often to curl up with a quilt on a chair or something. He slept in my bed last night because I got my window to open; our windows seem to be sticky this summer though because no one else could get theirs to go up. Course, it did help that Dat brought in the back of the pickax and pried it open for me. Rachel and Leah brought in the folding mattress and Samuel slept with me, so it was a regular party in there, least until Samuel fell asleep. We whispered quietly, then Mamm came in and told us to blow out the candles and get some sleep. Since Samuel was curled up next to me, Rachel blew them out. As always, the smoke made me cough, what with my asthma and all, but after a few moments, it dissipated and we slept. It was fun, having all those people in my room; it's uncommon for friends to spend the night in our faith; it would only happen if there was some kind of family emergency or a birth. It certainly wouldn't happen very often.

Even though they were just my sisters and Samuel, it was right fancy of us.

Well, Samuel is in my bed again, with the coal pan presumably. As I write this, I'm watching him. He's asking me what I'm doing, to which I reply, "Writing down what happened today." Dear, sweet little boy. I'll write out our speakings.

"Warum?" –Why?

"Weil ich möchte diese Tage weissen wann ich bin alt." Because I'd like to remember these days when I'm old-

"Aber du bist nicht alt jezt." But you aren't old right now.

"Das ist warum ich schreibe diese Geschichten. Da hast du mir gefragt, ain't so?" That's why I'm writing these histories. That's what you asked, aint's so?

"Ja." Yes-

"Willst du diese mit du wann du von house nehmen gehen?" –Will you take these with you when you leave the house? (He means when I marry and go to live with my husband except he doesn't know who I'm going to marry so he doesn't say it outright)

"Shh…es ist sehr spät. Mach schlaffen. Ich will dieses machen auch." – Shh, it's late. Go to sleep. I'll do the same.

I must blow out the candle or he will go on forever.

Gut Nacht,

Annie Stoltzfus


End file.
